Claudia Patatas and Adam Thomas began
trial on Tuesday in a British court, accused of clandestinely belonging to a terrorist organisation defending white supremacy, even after it was outlawed in 2016.
Patatas, 38, a photographer, is accused of being part of a “small cell of fanatics” who advocated a ‘white Jihad’ and whose opinions and actions went “beyond the occasional racial insult”.
She is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court alongside two other Britons, partner Adam Thomas, 22, and Daniel Bogunovic, 27, for allegedly belonging to the neo-Nazi group National Action.
All three pleaded not guilty, while Nathan Pryke, 27, Darren Fletcher, 28, and Joel Wilmore, 24, who were also detained in a police operation on 3 January, pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
The prosecutor revealed that the Portuguese woman was known within the group created under protected messaging network Telegram, as ‘Sigrun’ or ‘K Sigrun’, a reference to a Norse goddess or Valkyrie, who could choose who lived or died in battle, and used that name in an encrypted e-mail account.
Also among the evidence is a photograph in which Fletcher makes the Nazi salute and holds a flag with the swastika next to the son of Patatas and Thomas.
It emerged during the first day of the trial that Patatas and Thomas had given their child, born in November last year, the second name Adolf; an element that the public prosecutor responsible for the prosecution considers relevant, arguing: “Given that the child was born almost a year after the National Action was proscribed, it may be thought that the use of the name ‘Adolf’, even as a middle name, has a meaning”.
For his part, Adam Thomas, 22, who lived at the same address as Claudia Patatas, still had ‘The Anarchy Cookbook’ on his computer, which has instructions on how to make explosive devices.
The Briton is also accused of possessing a document containing terrorist content that could be useful to anyone who wants to commit a terrorist act.
Patatas, Thomas and Bogunovic are accused of belonging to the National Action, which was banned for being considered “a racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic organisation that stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes vile ideology” because of material it disseminated on the Internet, especially on social networks, with violent images and language and calls for acts of terrorism.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, its members or supporters can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The trial, presided over by Judge Melbourne Inman, is expected to last between three to four weeks.